Days of Zondo: The fight for freedom from corruption

by Ferial Haffajee

Impunity is built over time.

To look to the future, we must first understand the past. On 2 November 2016, Public Protector Thuli Madonsela recommended that then-President Jacob Zuma promulgate a Commission of Inquiry into State Capture. Chaired by Judge Raymond Zondo, the Commission began proceedings on 21 August 2018. After three years of staggering testimony, the breadth and depth of South Africa's capture was laid bare for a traumatised nation to comprehend.

Days of Zondo is the definitive guide to what was formally exposed during the Commission, with players ranging from the Gupta family to former President Jacob Zuma, Salim Essa, Ace Magashule, Dudu Myeni, Brian Molefe, Angelo Agrizzi, numerous ministers and associates, business leaders and corporate entities.

Award-winning journalist Ferial Haffajee unravels this complex web of corruption and criminality, leading the reader through Zondo's biggest moments and most shocking admissions, making sense of the Commission's findings, and celebrating the whistle-blowers who first alerted us to what was going on, often at great personal cost.

Infographics give a bird's-eye view of key findings from the Commission's report, including how much money was spent, how much was lost and where it could have helped us improve the quality of life for ordinary South African citizens.

Days of Zondo is a riveting, shocking and at times emotional book that invites the reader into the depths of state capture. At the same time, it acknowledges and provides catharsis to its victims: the people of South Africa.

300 pages, Paperback

Reviews

[Ed Stoddard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ferial is a friend and colleague and I am honoured to call her both. I waited a few months to read this because I wanted the commission to recede a bit, and this brought it vividly back to life. This underscores the fact that this book will have a long shelf life and will be the must read for the Zondo Commission for many years to come. Historians will ultimately write the first draft of its history (I have never bought the line that journalists write history's first draft, historians do so) and those that do will refer to this book that is by turns hopeful and depressing.
It is a journey into the corruption that has betrayed the dream of a free South Africa while offering a sense of hope. While I followed the broad outline of the Zondo Commission - tasked with probing the "capture" of the South African state, notably by former President Jacob Zuma and the Guptas, a trio of brothers from India - as it unfolded, I learned a lot from this often riveting read.

[Yoni Bass · Rating 3 out of 5]

One wonders if the author would have been better served in not attempting to be first in releasing a book on the findings of the Zondo Commission. Certain paragraphs are poorly edited insofar as it’s impossible to know what is being referred to; ie a paragraph with a he/she where it’s unclear who the he/she is!

The book has a jumbled narrative, with parts pertaining to SOEs and findings being replicated or literally duplicated. The author also relies upon extensive direct quotes which are occasionally hard to contextually parse.

That being said, the book contains an important repository of consolidated findings from the Commission. A pity though that time wasn’t taken to bolster accessibility and narrative flow.

[Malcolm Hyland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book. Provides a good understanding of the Zondo commission, the superb work done by so many investigators and experts behind the scene. A truly chilling story of how ANC politicians, and greedy thugs have significantly damaged South Africa. We can only hope that the Zondo commission findings provide the base to ensure the appropriate corrective action is taken and that South Africa can ultimately prosper.

[Christa Olivier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Start with the last chapter by Ivor Chipkin ...and read it again when you finished the rest
Corruption in the public domain is the tip of the iceberg.
Ferial did not forget to ackowledge the people who worked behind the scenes

[Charley Lewis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have to say I was less than impressed. Lots of information and lots of detail, but very sloppily and hastily written, repetitious in places and thin on actual analysis

[Keitu Rev · Rating 3 out of 5]

South Africa what a time to be ALIVE.